The Fearow and the Pidgey
by XAOTL Omega
Summary: Ash finds himself forced into a strange position, with the opportunity to become more than he is. But those that are there to help him are unstable, and the opportunity to learn can cause more harm than good to the young trainer.
1. The Hunt

**Chapter 1: The Hunt**

* * *

Ash was running, the moonlight's silver glow ripping holes of faded light through the dark forest. Then he saw a man in the distance, His face covered by the shadow of a tree, but Ash knew of the danger he meant. The man was angry at Ash, and because of that Ash was running.

There was another one, running in the shadows to the left of Ash, running silently, quietly. Only seen by chance and quickly Ash changed direction to avoid him. Maybe the first man had friends. He must have been really angry.

But Ash continued to run, dodging branches in the air and roots on the ground as the silent winters night was disrupted by his heavy breathing. His face sweaty, his legs wanting to collapse. But still running towards safety.

Ash's sprint stopped as he tripped on a root, smashing his face into the hard unforgiving earth. Hoping he didn't break his nose, hoping he wasn't bleeding. He had to run.

Suddenly a red light ripped through the darkness. A Pokéball, Ash was sure, it had to be. Then silence torn to shreds as a howl shook the night air, it told Ash he would have to run the other way. They were everywhere, everywhere, hiding in the shadows, hunting him in the wilderness.

But he kept on running and running and running. As fast as he could go, with strength in his legs he didn't know he had.

Another howl and then another. There were three Pokémon, maybe even more people. All angry at him.

Ash quickly dodged a sharp piece of wood that was stuck in the ground, losing his footing, spinning, trying to get back to running again. A Houndoom jumped out at him, its face red, black and silver, like fire in the moonlight, silver daggers in the shadow, ready to rip him to shreds.

Ash fell, rolling, kicking the Pokémon on top of him, pushing him up, as the Pokémon floundered at the sudden strength his prey had found.

Suddenly the strength in Ash seemed to disappear; he dropped the Pokémon to his side, skewering it on the sharp piece of wood he had just dodged.

He didn't look back to the predator, he had to get up. So he did. Pushing himself up with what little strength he had. His exhaustion catching up to him like a train that had no breaks. It distorted his vision, made him dizzy, and forced him to stumble.

He rolled into a small hole in the ground, concealed by the darkness. If they found him here, they would have him. He couldn't run, he couldn't move, he couldn't even think. Then he saw one. Bright crimson in the still glow of the moon. Ash's breathing stopped and he became silent.

His face seemed blurred, as Ash couldn't see clearly. Nothing was clear in this darkness. He was walking on the forest floor silently, his breath a whisper as he went to the corpse of the Houndoom. Checking if it was alive. Then when the figure turned to the small hole, Ash had already run away. Ash had to run, or be caught by them.

Even though he was dizzy.

Even though he was tired.

He darted through the forest of night with what little he had left within him.

He fell; his panic was of no use. His body had reached its limits, went beyond them, and crumbled against the monsters in red and black.

A voice spoke in his ear, as if the person speaking was right beside him. "There is now way out." It said spoken in a deep tone as old as the earth, filled with certainty and strength in its judgement.

Eyes closed, unable to see his captors face Ash replied, I know." Breathlessly.

"This is your future." The voice said, fading into eternal nothingness. Just before Ash woke up, remembering his dream through the hazy window that dreams are remembered, making nothing of it, because, after all, it was a dream, a nightmare, and nothing more.

* * *

It was a bright day in the Sinnoh region, as Ash, Dawn and Brock made their way to where Ash would soon face up against Paul in a six on six Pokémon battle. In the countryside of Sinnoh the grass stretched towards the dominating view of Mount Coronet, sparse trees covering the landscape, and blades of gray stone jutting out of the ground. The sun shining as the sound of the wind became the soundtrack to the long road Ash Dawn and Brock took.

"So Ash" Dawn asked curiously, "Do you think that you can beat Paul?"

"What do you mean think?" Ash replied, shaking his head in false disappointment, "Oh Dawn, and I thought that you had faith in me. Oh Dawn why! Why don't you trust me Dawn why?"

"Oh, be quiet Ash," she said smiling. "I was trying to be serious, because Paul is a good trainer. Maybe one of the best." She continued as Ash was frozen in his thoughts momentarily.

"Yeah, but I'm sure my Pokémon can do the job! Isn't that right Pikachu?"Ash said smiling as his Pokémon readily agreed.

"But Ash" Dawn asked, "He did beat you before. Paul's a good trainer. Maybe... maybe he's just better than you." Causing Ash to look straight towards Dawn for a moment with shock and disappointment in his eyes. Knowing the truth in her words, but uneasy at how she could praise Paul so easily.

"Hey, what's that?" Brock said suddenly, looking further up along the path where a person lay alongside a large stone. Causing the three to run up to the person immediately, and forget about their conversation. The closer they got to him the more apparent it was that he was in danger. His face was dirty, covered with mud, his arms covered in cuts that had become enclosed up with dried up blood. His black and red clothes torn at places, covered with thick mud in others. Which was surprising due to his evident old age.

As they crowded around the man Dawn whispered in shock, "What do you think happened to him?"

From what could be seen the man needed help. The man was old, but not frail ,his body seemed to be strong although broad shoulders, and white hair that did not hide the deep wrinkles that time had thrown onto his face, and bags as dark as coal marked under his eyes from his experience at what must have been many, many sleepless nights.

"Mr, are you awake?" Ash asked the man on the floor quietly as Brock checked his vital signs.

"Of course he's not awake." Dawn scolded, in a tone that seemed adequate for anyone that wanted to snap common sense into the Pokémon master to be, so that she could divert attention from how scared she was deep down at not knowing what to do. "If he was awake, he wouldn't be sleeping. He is sleeping Brock? Isn't he?" she asked, with a voice that had switched tone to one of deep worry.

Suddenly the man groaned, waking up, clutching something in his hands. When he saw the group his eyes shot open, his breath caught in his mouth, until Brock said in a calm voice, "are you alright?"

Suddenly the man's attitude relaxed, as he placed himself in a more comfortable position to sit in. He looked at the three with his dark eyes before he spoke; "I'm fine, thank you." In a deep rich accent, earthy and ancient, like the foundations of a castle that had crumbled around of it.

"Are you hurt?" Brock asked, to which the man shook his head, standing up, and shaking himself to wake his muscles up, showing just how tall he was in comparison to the rest of the group.

Dawn's concern appeared as she asked the man to "Relax, you were out on the ground, and you're hurt very badly."

"Nonsense" He replied, looking around the area. Unable to hide the sense of alarm he felt inside, as he wondered just how he got to where he was. "Where are we?"

But before they could answer a large mechanical claw reached out and grabbed Pikachu.

It was Team Rocket again, with Pikachu in their balloon.

"Quick, go Chimchar!" Ash shouted, as Team Rocket looked at him with irritation.

"Ay, twerp! Can't we at least do our motto?" Meowth shouted.

"No!" Ash shouted back. "Give me Pikachu!"

"Haven't you learnt yet? We're not giving Pikachu back!" James said the Pokémon trainer as Pikachu was held in Team Rockets mechanical glove that probably wouldn't allow Pikachu to let loose any of its electrical attacks.

"Why not?"Ash shouted back.

"Because we're Team Rocket, uniting the world against the evils of truth and love!" James shouted with irritation in his voice like the rest of Team Rocket had "Now do you see why we need to tell you our motto?"

Then all of a sudden the balloon popped, forcing the glove to let go of Pikachu. Ash immediately ran out to catch his Pokémon, whilst Team Rocket was sent "Blasting off again!"

There in the sky where the balloon used to be a Pidgey remained, flying in mid air before the old man returned it into a Pokéball. Suddenly everyone turned to look at the old man who was lying, knocked out on the ground moments earlier with looks of shock. He merely smiled and in a calm voice said, "While you all were talking, I thought I might ask Pidgey to pop their balloon." As the rest of the gang wondered why they hadn't thought of doing that before.

"Now if you all would be so kind to tell me where exactly it is that I am?"

* * *

There he stood. In the darkness of the room Ash was in. He was somewhere in the shadows, patient, waiting. Sometimes Ash would see a flash of red; hear his breath sigh wisps of wind. But he always remained just out of reach of his eyes, like the shadow just beyond a child's bedroom, waiting, watching, forever there. Ash knew he was there because Ash could hear the man's footsteps make the ground shake with each solid step. A solid sharp click that came with each step the man made, coming from what seemed to be all directions.

"You can not escape" the man in the shadows said with a great low growl.

"What?" Ash asked, caught short of breath from the unexpected voice confident in the darkness. Predatory like the great wild Luxray, that carried bright yellow eyes that pierced the thick smoke of night. As if the man could also see through the shadow, leaving Ash exposed before him.

"You can not escape." He repeated. "This is who you are." He stated. "This is who you are holding back." He knew.

"I don't need to lie." The man whispering on the back of the boys neck, silent and certain like the Arbok who had already coiled itself around its pray and prize.

"You are dreaming."

* * *

If it wasn't for the train breaking down the three would have reached Lake Acuty earlier, but there are some things that could not be helped.

Ash walked outside of the Pokémon centre to see the old man in the distance with a Pokéball in hand. Ash quickly rushed up to him and saw him release his Pidgey in a blast of red light.

"So is that your Pokémon?" Ash asked the old man having seen the Pidgey briefly against Team Rocket.

The old man gave a small smile and nod to Ash saying "I just recently caught this little one. But I'd like to ask you who those three thieves were, the ones we met before."

"Oh, don't worry about them." Ash replied shaking his head, "They're just Team Rocket, not much to worry about."

"But." The old man said, interrupting Ash, "I remember a Team Rocket from Kanto, although they seemed different to these people."

"Yeah, but don't worry about Jessie and James, sometimes they do more good than bad." Ash said thinking back to the occasional times when they would be a great deal of help.

"Yes." The old man said reflectively with a small smile, "sometimes the greatest help comes from those who have been ignored until they are needed."

"What?" Ash asked in confusion.

"Oh don't worry." The man replied calmly, "Although I remember you talking with your friends." He said, "You are supposed to have a battle today against your rival? Are you not?"

"Yeah"

"How do you think you will do?" He asked, looking into Ash's eyes.

"Well I think I'll do fine." Ash said uneasily against the man's gaze.

"Have you practiced?"

"Yeah" Ash replied. "Well a bit." He said changing his answer because of the fact that they had to rush to the battle ground after what happened to their train, leaving little time to practice.

"Well do you want to have a practice battle?" the man asked as Ash grew a smile, ready and eager for a battle anywhere, and anytime.

Ash quickly ran to a safe distance and shouted "Go Grotle!" as his Pokémon was released onto the grass between them. His opponent called his Pidgey as Ash looked on with confusion saying "But it's a Pidgey." To which the old man did not reply. "You only caught it a few days ago" Ash blurted in shock wondering just what was wrong with this person.

"Do you want to battle?" Ash's opponent asked. Sure that his choice in the bird was a reasonable one.

"Yeah" Ash said confidently. "Grotle, let's start off with a razor leaf."

But his opponent had quickly devised a plan, shouting "Fly around it Pidgey" then "to the left" and, "dive" in a loud and clear voice as he tried to steer the little Pokémon through the attack. Ducking and diving, Pidgey made its way through the attack without a scratch. Finding itself very close to Grotle at the end of the attack. Pidgey's trainer shouted, "Get underneath its shell." And the Pokémon quickly complied by finding a secure perch between Grotle's body and its shell.

"Shake it off!" Ash commanded, but no matter how hard his Pokémon tried the Pidgey clung.

All Ash could see was his opponent's confident smirk, as he ordered Pidgey to "use peck." The Pokémon pecked Grotle in a spot that caused the Pokémon to cry out in pain, and tears to roll out of its eyes as it buckled, unable to stand on its own feet any longer.

The man sighed, holding out his hand in front of him and said "stop" gently, ordering his Pidgey to return into its Pokéball. "You lost Ash, Pidgey could have stayed there and kept on attacking, and your Pokémon wouldn't have been able to do anything about it."

"What do you mean? If you were so confident why'd you stop?" Ash asked in confusion, knowing that Grotle had been in great pain from the spot that Pidgey had chosen to attack, but hopeful in his mind that he could have turned the battle around somehow.

"Because" the old man replied, putting his Pokémon's Pokéball away and looking to the young boy and his Grotle who was now panting on the floor, having just discovered a pressure point on his body that the Pidgey had exploited. "You have a big battle soon, and I would like to see how you manage to do in it. A simple potion should help your Pokémon" the old man said, throwing Ash a potion as he applied it to his Pokémon.

"But this means you forfeit, so I win." Ash said, still confused slightly, causing the old man to sigh, holding his hand to his head and shaking it lightly.

He stopped and looked at Ash with sympathy, "winning and losing rarely tell you everything, performance, flow, technical ability, tactics, knowledge of your opponent and their Pokémon all play a role and can always be improved. You win and lose battles but you must always, always try your best to become better as a trainer no matter what."

He looked at Ash with a deep intensity in his eyes as if he was facing a demon he had promised to slay "In chess" he continued, "the checkmate is only possible with all the moves made before it." The man explained, "Sometimes the outcome of a Pokémon battle has been decided before it even starts. Before the battle you knew my Pidgey was weak, you knew your attack would hit, you knew that I couldn't get up close, and you knew that Grotle had no pressure points that could cause it pain. That is why you lost."

"Yeeaah..." Ash drawled, confused at the speech that was just given to him, feeling gears in his head grind and feel his brain collapse in the effort of trying to understand what the old man had just said. Until the only thing he could think of saying was, "I don't know how to play chess."

"Then maybe one day I'll teach you." The old man suggested, looking down at Ash with a soft kind smile.

But then Ash said something that changed the outlook the man had on Ash, one thing that made the events of the future much more certain "Maybe, I guess. Personally I prefer snakes and ladders. But thanks for not hurting Grotle too badly, I don't know what would have happened if he was injured before the battle. I don't know what I would do if any of my Pokémon were badly injured" he said blinking, "because if they were hurt, it would be my fault."

* * *

Ash lost the battle. He lost horribly. His Pokémon were injured, battered and bruised. His style was ineffective against Paul, although calling the way Ash had battled as a style would be too much of a compliment. It was more like him trying and Paul stopping every attempt he made to make a mark on the battle. Beaten like a puppy that had displeased its master.

Ash was alone now, sitting far away from the Pokémon centre on the grass. Alone, thinking why? Thinking how? Redoing all that had just happened inside the confines of his mind wondering what went wrong, wondering if it was the power, the passion, the preparation, or maybe the predictability of his actions. He just wanted to know what had gone wrong. Asking himself if there was something that he had done to earn such a humiliating defeat, and facing the thought that perhaps, he was just simply a pathetic trainer.

It couldn't be his Pokémon, could it? They tried their hardest, and Ash summarised that if they weren't powerful enough he was the one who should have trained them prior to the match.

Eventually Ash led himself safely to a conclusion after what seemed like hours listening to the silent trees, the wild wind and loud voices in his head. There was only one person to blame, himself.

Paul had prepared, he knew what Ash was going to do at every turn whilst Ash was overconfident coming into the match. Just like the old man said earlier. Or maybe, as a trainer he just wasn't good enough?

Suddenly Ash heard a sombre voice say "Hello boy" to him.

"Huh?" Ash said looking at the person who managed to come up beside him undetected. The old man sat down next to Ash, looking into the distance as Ash was before at a crop of trees in the distance that seemed to be particularly interesting, letting the soft silence say all that needed to be said as Ash and the old man looked together into the distance. Waiting for the right time to break the silence.

"You were horrible." The old man stated in a firm tone when enough time had passed for the boy to become comfortable around his presence, still keeping his gaze fixed in the distance. "You lost against a superior opponent and deserved to lose, and quite frankly." He sighed, "Quite frankly, if you carry on like you do now you will not get very far."

"No." Ash countered with a quiet anger in his voice and fists clenched, attempting to salvage some pride in a battle of words after having lost all of it when it mattered. "My Pokémon tried their hardest; they did everything they could and even more."

The man turned slowly until his eyes were locked in with Ash's. A look of stern compassion embedded in his posture, silencing the young boy. "Your Pokémon tried, but it didn't matter. It's good, very very good that you have this bond, it's hard to find anyone with a bond with their Pokémon like the one you have. Never give up on it, but your Pokémon weren't the problem. You were the problem. You were stupid, absolutely stupid. Your choices were predictable and poor."

Ash looked down to the ground, his heart growing heavy with the weight that was placed upon him, because he knew that it was his fault, his responsibility, now that his Pokémon were hurt. But what was worse was the fact that if he carried on there was a chance he would be throwing his Pokémon into the same situation again. Would it have been better to quit? Normally Ash would have said a firm no to the mere thought, but now for what seemed the first time in his short life he began to think otherwise.

"But-"he gasped, at a loss for words as the fighter within him realised that there was nothing to fight. There was reason in the old man's arguments, he knew what was wrong, the trainer was the weak link, and the thought seemed to freeze Ash inside. "I'm a good trainer, I earned my badges." He whispered weakly.

The man snapped at Ash in an instant, "So did everyone else who made it to a league." Then he paused, letting his words be absorbed by the young boy, the young boy who had no idea what to do, who seemed lost in a world of monsters that he himself had made. So Ash did the only thing he could do. He got up and he ran.

By the time he reached the Pokémon centre, he had slowed down into a walk. Trying his best to hide his sadness from passersby, unused to the feeling and the idea that it had come from. On the rare occasions that he would suffer from such a setback he would cry, but usually he would at least wait until he was alone. Try and keep some dignity, some self respect, because when everything else seemed to crumble away they were some of the few things he would have left.

"After walking through the door he heard his friends talking, wondering if they had seen him or not. Checking his eyes for tears and thankful that there were none there. But stopping once he heard them talk.

"How do you think Ash is doing?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know" Ash head Brock say in a sad tone as if he was really truly worried about their friend. "I guess he's just thinking about things."

"Shouldn't we help?" he heard Dawn reply with worry in her voice.

"No." He heard Brock say firmly, "this is something he's got to do on his own."

"But I'm still worried about him." Dawn protested, "I know what it's like to get into a slump and I don't want to see Ash get into one. I mean come on we're his friends! We should be helping him!"

* * *

"I should have gone with Paul! At least he knows how to train Pokémon. Gah! I just had to meet up with Ash first." He heard Dawn shout.

"I know I've been with him for too long now." He heard Brock agree. "He's never gotten anything worthwhile and the moment he gets a strong Pokémon he always lets it go. Everyone else was smart enough to get away from him, but it's like he's always following me."

"Should we just leave him?" Dawn asked.

"What do you mean Dawn?"

"Let's travel with someone else, anyone else. Come on Brock, what do you think?"She suggested.

"Good idea" Brock Agreed. "Let's go before he comes back. I can't stand to see his face again."

Then Ash felt everything go black. Not knowing if he was in a dream or not.


	2. The Hunter

**Chapter 2: The Hunter**

* * *

Ash woke up, locked in a small, dark, gray, stone room, with only a dim, flickering light bulb that acted as the only source of light.

He groaned, rolling out of the bed, collapsing onto the hard floor. A small, "ow" escaping his mouth as he hit the hard ground with a thud. He got up, rubbing his eyes, then looked around and asked himself, "I wonder how I got here?"

He checked himself for injuries, then noticed that his Pokémon were gone. Ash stopped for a moment, and remembered that he had left his Pokémon somewhere to get better... but then wondered if he really did. Finding himself slightly dizzy, and unable to make sense of his memories.

He stumbled to his feet as his mind tried to look back to his last memory. He wondered out loud, where his "Pikachu" was. He began to look around repeating the words, "Pikachu, Pikachu." In a voice filled with slight alarm, yet still half asleep.

He looked towards the door finding his feet and began walking towards it, whilst murmuring, "Pikachu, Pikachu." He grabbed the door handle, trying to open it. Failing in the attempt. Becoming agitated and trying harder, as the fact that he was a prisoner began to dawn onto his confused mind.

"No, no." He whispered to himself, frightened as if he was facing the silver jaws of a Houndoom in the haze of midnight.

"Pikachu!" He wailed, shaking the door in a final attempt to open it before he collapsed in front of the door, exhausted, the room spinning, his distress turning into a weight that had found itself locked in his stomach.

He turned to look at his room, finding the man from the shadow of his dreams look at him silently. He was tall wrapped in dark red clothes, and stiff as a statue. With only his dark, piercing eyes visible through the rags that covered almost every inch of his body.

The man spoke in his monotone voice, "I see you are awake." Whilst glaring at Ash.

Then all of a sudden, Ash wasn't awake any longer.

* * *

"He just... fell down, right in front of me" Ash heard someone say as he woke up. Keeping his eyes closed, in an attempt to make his captors think that he was still asleep.

"Are you sure?" he heard another man replays their conversation continued.

"Yes." The first man replied.

"You didn't do anything to him?"

"NO"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I am sure."

Ash opened his eyes slightly. Trying his best not to alert the other two men that he was no longer sleeping. Keeping his breathing slow as thoughts of Pikachu and his other Pokémon filled his mind, and the dread of not being able to see them again urged him to run away from his captors. But knew that in order to successfully run away, he had to make sure that they were not able to trap him again.

Then Ash noticed the two men looking at him, the man in red and the old man who had travelled with him and his friends for a short while. Both looking at him with their piercing eyes. Causing Ash's heart to immediately freeze at the knowledge that he was caught and his mind fill with the thought of running.

* * *

Ash found himself running down the hallway as fast as he could go, knowing that he had to get away from his captors, although it seemed at times that he was just going around in circles.

He heard the old man from down the winding hallway shout the words, "You should stop running," from a distance and then shout out that, "you'll just get tired eventually." In the empty hallway.

But as he turned down a gray spiral stone staircase he just began to run faster and faster at the thought that they were getting catching up to him.

Hunger began to grip him, but he shook off the thought because hunger always gripped him, and being able to eat food whilst in the free world seemed better than eating whatever slime they would feed him in here.

He reached the bottom of the staircase and saw the man in red waiting patiently, so he turned around and continued to run, and he continued to run until he became tired and decided to try something other than just running really fast. He began to go around corners, up and down stairs so that he may be able to confuse the two people that chased him; constantly looking around to see if they were just behind him. Then he turned a corner to see the man in red surprise him with a, "Boo!" Which forced Ash to turn around and run back, with what little strength he had left in him.

Running and running and running, until every last ounce of energy had been drained from him. Eventually causing Ash to collapse, in the middle of one of the many hallways that seemed to litter the barren complex.

As he caught his breath he saw the man in red again, standing in the distance, then on the other side the old man appeared, walking up towards the young boy who now knew that he was trapped.

When he reached Ash the old man sat down next to him, a small smile appearing on his face as he asked Ash, "Did you have some good exercise?"

"No." Ash panted, not looking at the old man directly in the eyes, as he asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

"Me?" the old man replied in amusement, "No, you must have forgotten, you wanted to come with me, remember?" he asked the younger boy who looked up at the old man in confusion. "Look Ash, if we meant you harm we would have hurt you, or put you in a cage, I'm only here to help. After you lost, and after what your friends said about you. Ash, don't you remember? You wanted to come."

Ash paused for a second, looking down and thinking hard about what had actually happened. Murmuring, "I think I remember" in a voice that was just above a whisper, but heard clearly in the silence of the hallway.

Suddenly he put his hand to his forehead, groaning in pain as the old man looked on towards Ash in concern, asking, "What's wrong?" in a soft, caring tone.

"Well, it's just that, thinking too much hurts my head." Ash groaned, earning a hearty laugh from the man as he patted Ash on the back.

"Don't worry about that, but right now we'll get you something to eat. My name's Richard, and if you put your trust in me, I will help you to become a better trainer. But first have some rest; you look like you need it."

"Can I have some food as well?" Ash asked, taking a glance at Richard.

"I'll have it taken to your room."Richard replied, smiling, "My associate will deliver it to you." He said as the man in red groaned in anger, kicking the wall before he marched off to Ash's confusion.

* * *

Ash was on the floor, after Brock had punched him.

"Days, months, years!" he shouted, you've wasted my life!" Brock roared at the boy who lay on the floor of the Pokémon centre, giving him a kick into the stomach. Then he kicked him again in the side. Then stamped his foot on the side of his face, causing Ash to squirm and cry under the pressure.

Through his tears he saw Dawn laughing at him, spit launching out of her mouth and landing on Ash's face every time she opened her mouth.

"You're a pathetic excuse of a trainer!" Brock continued, as his voice became more and more distant.

The ground began to shake with a thump, thump, thump. Then everything became silent as Brock's foot let go of Ash. Forcing the young boy to roll onto his back whilst groaning in pain. Allowing Ash to see Paul walking up to him with Torterra who had Pikachu, hanging unconscious from its mouth. As Paul carried on walking to Ash, sitting on top of him as he drew a small knife in his firm hand, then pressing the knife's cold blade to Ash's cheek.

"You have been, very bad." Paul said, moving his knife slowly down Ash's body, and telling Ash "and you don't deserve what you have." As he began to carve patterns in Ash's skin. "So I will take it from you."

Then Paul's clothes began to turn a deep shade of red, and his eyes became much darker. Looking at Ash directly with a cruel smile, as if the young boy was a tender meal ready for a feast. Whispering to Ash in the near silence of the room, "boo."

* * *

Richard gave Ash a Pokéball as he went and stood on the other side of the underground battlefield.

Richard looked at Ash and said in a commanding voice, "This is your first lesson; it's about keeping pressure on your opponents."

Knowing what he had to do Ash released the Pokémon in his Pokéball revealing a Fearow. Richard did the same and out of His Pokéball came a Wartortle. The two Pokémon immediately took up battling positions on the field.

Robert looked at Ash in the eyes and in a stern voice told him, "I'll let you start."

"Alright Fearow" Ash said, "quick attack!" causing the Pokémon to rush towards Wartortle in an attack.

"Water gun" Richard ordered as the attack hit its target, stopping Ash's Pokémon in its tracks.

"Fearow are you alright?" Ash asked as the bird Pokémon squawked and flapped its wings to show that it was capable to continue battling.

"Water gun" Richard ordered, knocking the flying type Pokémon down to the ground, "Again" and then, "Again." As all of his attacks hit its target, before Ash could do anything in retaliation. Then all of a sudden Fearow lay fainted on the ground, as Richard looked straight towards Ash. "That's how to keep pressure," he said sternly, "you immediately put your opponent on the back foot, and if they manage to turn the tables you would have already caused considerable damage whilst not showing much of your other moves or strategic capability." Richard paused to allow time for the young boy to absorb what he had just said.

"Here, take this, restore Fearow." He ordered throwing Ash a bottle filled with some kind of potion as the young boy applied it to Fearow who was immediately brought back to full health.

"Are you ready?" Richard asked, waiting until Ash nodded, "Good. Now we will work on defence, we won't have a battle, I will just give you a demonstration. There are two ways to defend; the first is by simply moving out of the attacks way." He paused as Ash had just noticed how the old man's voice had changed in comparison to every other time he had talked; his tone was clear, loud with a sharp sting of authority laced in it. He did not seem like every other person who claimed to know about battling, they would order him to clean bedrooms, or hit him with a stick for asking a question, or take an exam about the swirly bit of a Polywhirl, anything other than battling, but Richard didn't seem to beat about the bush. In a way Richard reminded Ash of Brandon from the battle pyramid, but not as cryptic.

"Wartortle use bubble, and Fearow, you dodge." Richard commanded as the water Pokémon let out a series of bubbles at Fearow and the flying type who was in mid air simply stopped flapping its wings, and dropped a few inches to completely avoid the attack. "Usually when dodging, trainers make a flashy display about it, but the reality is that less is more. My Pidgey used this against your Grotle if you can remember, and straight away I got through your defences into your Pokémon's weak spot." Ash nodded listening to the man's every word.

"The other way to defend is by forcing your Pokémon to stand against it, some trainers develop a Pokémon's defence, others choose to use attacks like light screen or offensive attacks like water gun to intercept their opponents attack. It's too dramatic in my opinion when you can just dodge instead. The basic nature of this is that as long as your attack is of equal or greater power you can negate or reflect your opponent's attacks. But you already know all about that."

"Now" Richard said, "let's see if you've been listening, and have another battle." As the two Pokémon took up the battling positions that they had before, and Ash's posture changed from one that was attentive to one that was ready to battle, a smile creeping up on his face as he became ready. "Water gun." Richard ordered.

"Drop." Ash countered as Fearow dodged the water gun.

"Again." Richard commanded as Ash also repeated the same tactic to avoid the attack.

"Again." Richard ordered.

"Quick attack!" Ash commanded in retaliation as Fearow dodged Wartortles attack, and flew straight to hit the water type Pokémon. "Hit him again." Ash commanded as Fearow circled around and struck Wartortle, knocking it off of its feet.

As the water type attempted to get up Ash ordered, "Again" as Fearow knocked into Wartortle knocking the Pokémon out.

"Yes!" Ash shouted in joy, "Nice job Fearow, you were great!" Ash said as the Pokémon crowed in approval.

"Good, very good." Richard said clapping slowly at Ash's performance, walking up to Wartortle to give it something to help it to restore its health.

Then there was silence, as Ash noticed that in the corner of the room the man in red was watching him, but Ash tried his best as he turned his attention to his trainer, and said, "Can I ask a question?" in a timid voice.

"Ask away" Richard replied as the posture of the old man turned from one of authority to something much more approachable, something that he hoped would not deter Ash from asking his question.

"Why are you teaching me all of this?" Ash asked curiously, wondering, in the deep recesses of his mind why any of this was happening.

"That's because you asked me." Richard stated simply, "After what happened, you asked me to help you and I said yes because you, deep down are a good Person."

He threw a Pokéball to Ash and said, "here, take Wartortle and Fearow, you'll have time to practice with them, and bond."

"But I, I want to know, where are my Pokémon?" he asked as the old man continued to look at Ash sincerely.

"They're safe, don't worry" he replied, "they are still at the Pokémon centre where you said goodbye to them, and I have someone watching over them as they heal, so don't worry alright? Now there's a training room just over there." He said pointing to a door in the distance, take all the time you need, and don't rush yourself." Richard said Ash turned around and began to walk away at the man's request.

But as Ash walked away he began to feel uneasy, something seemed wrong. It was not the strangeness of the situation he had found himself in. It was the battle, whilst he was happy with what he was being taught he found something lacking, something missing, and as he walked away he wondered just what it was.

With Ash a safe distance away the man in red quietly walked up towards Richard, stopping right beside him as they looked towards the door that Ash had just passed through.

"Because you asked me to?" the man in red repeated what Richard had said earlier in a disapproving tone, "How did he believe that?" he asked.

"He still seems disorientated. That or he's just not that bright. Now that I think about it it's probably just that he's stupid, but it makes my job easier."

"What job?" the man scoffed, "Teaching him the basics? If he doesn't know that... GAAHHH" he groaned in frustration, throwing his hands up into the air to show his frustration to Richard who remained unmoved. "There are better trainers!"

"I didn't ask him to come because of his training ability, I chose him because of who he is, just like why you were chosen. Besides your point is meaningless, every trainer uses the same, or similar tactics."

"Then why him?" the man in red asked, having calmed down, "Why not a beginner who can learn more, or an expert with more experience."

"He has potential." Richard replied, "I didn't lie completely to him, I lied a little bit, but that was for the greater good."

"Tell me, what does he have potential for?" The man asked curiously. "You let him win the match."

Richard smiled and replied with a simple, "He has potential for a lot. Besides that's usually what teachers do."

"Lie?"

"No." Richard said calmly, "yes."

"What?" the man asked.

"He needed the confidence of a win, so I gave him one. Loosing can bring the opportunity to teach oneself that there is room for improvement, but losing a lot leaves you in a slump. Besides, he was listening to me, what sort of person I would be if I didn't reward him for that."

"Any other lessons, oh wise one?" the man in Red asked as the old man sighed, realising just how irritating it was when he had something to say and there was no one to listen.

"Just one." He said, "Be nice to him. We're not here to torture him; we're here to bring him to our side. Not to make him our enemy." He paused, looking towards the man in red with sharp, piercing eyes, "and I doubt that he will choose to endure an abusive relationship like your women. Understand?" he asked, stopping for a moment without reply before he roared like a fearsome beast, "Do you understand!" as the man in red stepped back, startled.

"I let you play thief, but this is too important for your games." And with that statement the man in red realised that Richard had made plans to do with the young boy.

"But you still need my help." The man in red said softly, as the old man looked towards his companion with a scrutinising look.

"You know what." The old man replied with frustration evident in his gritting teeth as he snapped, "Just do your job." At the man in red, not in the least bit intimidated by him.

* * *

Ash was in the training room, getting to know his two Pokémon. Then Ash heard a large bang echo through the room, he turned around to see the man in red standing in the doorway. "Come." He ordered the young boy, "alone." He said looking towards Ash's two Pokémon as the boy turned to Fearow and Wartortle, asking them to stay behind before he went and followed the man in red through the barren hallways that flooded the facility as Ash followed like an obedient hound.

Suddenly the two came to a door that the man opened and then motioned for Ash to enter. As he walked into the room he found himself surrounded by stack of gold jewels and coins, and ancient artefacts of power placed on top of pedestals, all shining under the dull blue lights of the facility.

The man in red led Ash through the room of treasures he had collected from certain individuals over the years. Feeling a sense of pride as the young boy looked over the glistening items of his collection, but not breaking his iron facade. Because in all of his years of collecting objects from both Team Rocket and museums alike he had realised that the smallest mistakes could be some of the most costly.

He opened another door and pushed Ash through, into another room that had nothing but a chair and a bright purple orb inside of it.

The man grabbed Ash's shoulders harshly and moved him into the chair as the young boy sat uneasily, whilst keeping his attentive eyes fixed directly on top of the man in red as he got the purple orb in his hands, looking into its depths with complete admiration, whispering, "The orb of dreams." So that Ash had a name to the object the man in red held.

The man in Red had been using this object a lot recently, it was different to many other objects that he had acquired, but in order for it to work the subject had to be asleep. So he shaped his free hand into a fist and punched Ash in the face, knocking the young boy out.

But before he did anything he went and took a look towards the young boy, wondering why Richard had chosen him, a little boy to be the one he trained. He wasn't necessarily strong or athletic, as his body showed, clearly not clever. From all appearances he just seemed to be another average trainer that would vanish into dust without making any real mark on the world.

But that was Richard's choice, and the old man had become more and more irrational in his decisions as time had gone on. Obsessed with the wider world and his legacy in it, like most others who faced their twilight years without being reduced to drool and nappies in an old person's home. This was not a good foundation for their organisation which, whilst small at the moment had a long legacy and a lot of room for expansion.

But for now he would play with the young boy's dreams. He had attempted to use his new toy before at no one in particular, but that had just resulted in a large headache and without any feedback on if his experiment worked. But for today, he will be able to turn a foe into a friend. A chance to steal an apprentice from his acquaintance, and change the balance of power between the two of them in his favour.

* * *

Richard sat listening to Wartortle and Fearow tell him how Ash had treated them in the short time in which they were together.

It was surprising to him that Ash had not been more assertive in his accusations, or more eager to escape. Despite what he had told his colleague Richard could not believe anyone was that clueless. No one. But if there was something wrong with Ash he would have to find it out, and fix it in time. For now it was helpful to him.

Ash was a good trainer to the two Pokémon, even though he had just met them. That was why Richard had chosen the young boy in the first place, noticing a trait that he hadn't seen in trainers for a very long time. Trainers in today's day and age are more focused on increasing their Pokémon's power as opposed to improving their own, personal faults.

Of course Richard was irritated that the man in red had chosen to try and take Ash for whatever he had chosen to do with the young boy. But deep down Richard was confident; and knew that his acquaintance would not be able to take Ash, he wasn't that clever.

Although he had been planning something for the last two weeks, locked away in his room. But he would deal with that later, first he had an apprentice to train.


End file.
